February 3

#MyWhy

As a first generation college student in the late ’80s, with family roots that flow deep into Appalachia, the #RuralInfluence was a powerful force in shaping my path and perspective. With the experiences that 50+ years on this earth have afforded me, I am only further convinced in the power and purpose that can be found in small-town and rural America. That is why #RuralMatters has become such a large part of #MyWhy.

I have now been an educator for close to three decades – the majority of that time has been with small-town and rural school districts. Serving within the public schools under the #RuralInfluence only deepened my belief that it is a distinct educational environment that brings with it an intensity that can only be found in the rural experience. However, the #CulturalMindset tends to marginalize rural life and individuals – often portraying rurality as the problem that needs to be fixed.

This #CulturalMindset takes me back almost twenty years, to the voices of neighbors and naysayers as I began to expand my garden. As I started the rototiller, digging into the soil, I immediately discovered the ground was full of rocks. Not small pebbles but rocks – the size of which, when the tines would hit them, would cause the tiller to buck and bounce. The neighbors and naysayers from the outset told me I would never grow anything in such a rocky soil, all the while never once lifting a finger to clear the stony ground! By the end of growing season, my wife and I had canned over a hundred quarts of half-runners and froze several gallons of sweet corn out of that rocky garden (besides the weekly eating of the peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and such)!

When others look at the small-town and rural educational systems, they may see rocky ground that will never produce. I see a richness in the soil – a richness that can only be found in such a school environment and the communities they serve. The rich soil comes from unique characteristics that such districts share – providing a distinctiveness from their urban/suburban counterparts. I know #RuralEdMatters because I have had the joy in watching/experiencing what such soil produces!

I leave you with this. Chyann is a first generation college student – a product of the small-town/rural educational experience. She is an example of the richness that #RuralEd provides and gives voice for what lies #BeyondTheClassroomWalls for those coming from the #RuralInfluence.


Posted February 3, 2019 by drnate in category Dr. Nate Intro

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